The present invention relates to transmissions for motors, and more particularly to a transmission that selectively couples a motor with one or more powered devices.
It is well known in a wide variety of applications to couple a motor with a powered device for driving the powered device. For example, motors are often used in seating applications to provide seats and seat backs with a variety of powered adjustments, such as seat depth, seat angle and a recline for the seat back. As another example, motors are also commonly used to drive powered mirrors, powered windows and powered door locks, such as in automobiles. A switch or multiple switches are generally accessible to the user to allow users to actuate the motor and operate the particular device.
In most of these applications, it is common to provide one motor for each corresponding powered device. For instance, a seat providing powered adjustment for the seat depth, seat angle and seat back recline would generally have three separate motors, one for each application. Each motor actuates a single drive shaft that extends from the motor to a corresponding powered device. As each individual motor is actuated with its corresponding switch, the drive shaft for that motor actuates a particular powered device.
A problem with the use of a separate motor for each device is that each motor adds additional cost and additional weight. In addition, the use of separate motors can become cumbersome as more features are added to a particular application. In many cases it is desirable to keep the motors out of sight, which often means they are placed in tight, out of the way locations. In seating applications, for example, the motors are generally placed under the seat and within the seat frame. The space required for each separate motor makes it difficult to add new features to the seat, including additional powered devices.